Home Schematics

Schematics

American Gunsmith: Making The M1 Carbine Work Again

Pressed into service more than 50 years ago, the M1 Carbine is coming home again and often needs a gunsmith's attention.

Make Your Own Handgun Safety Lock

The child-proofing of guns is not just desirable, it's the law. Here are some effective, but inexpensive, locks you can make in your shop.

Working the Ruger 10/22

This article originated in the American Gunsmith Library Book of the Rifle: Working the Ruger 10/22. Accuracy shooters will want stock versions of this gun cleaned up and tuned before they move on to more exotic versions.

Working the Lee Enfield Rifle

Gun Tests finds out about common problems and common solutions for the most common military-style bolt action in the world. Adapted from the American Gunsmith Library.

Understanding the Not-So-Simple Drill Bit

They may be familiar to some, but not every gunsmith knows the ins and outs of drill bits. Here are the basics.

Making Homemade Barrel Adapters

Take a moment before hauling that trash to the dumpster—you may find something useful, such as .22 barrels.

Repairing Remington 788 Bolt-Action Rifles

GunReports.com finds that the Model 788 rifle Remington built to compete with cheaper items remains one of its most popular years later. Repairing it gets complicated.

Repairing Inexpensive Colt 22 Rifles: Courier, Colteer and Stagecoach

If someone were to ask you which products Colt has sold over the years, would you say a .22 semiautomatic rifle? I didn't think you would. Colt made three versions of .22 rifles, the Courier, Colteer and Stagecoach, as well as others under several private-label names for Sears, Wards and other companies. This alloy rifle shot well, but did not hold up well. Unless it was kept oiled and clean, the alloy parts wore very rapidly. In spite of this, the little Colt rifles were good enough lightweight shooters that most owners will pay to get them fixed rather than discard theirs.

Chamber Identification With Cerrosafe

There will always be a need to identify chamberings of firearms that have been inherited or bought at yard sales. The lure of buying for bottom dollar and discovering a real jewel is ingrained in most of us, so a little thing like no chambering marks on a rifle or handgun is no deterrent to a gun fancier.

The Browning Automatic Rifle

Little more than a month before the United States entered the war against Germany in 1917, Browning officially demonstrated his two newest brainchildren for an audience of senators, representatives, military officers, and assorted members of the press. One entry was a .30 caliber, water-cooled machine gun capable of discharging 600 rounds per minute. The other was a rifle light enough to be carried by a foot soldier, fired from the shoulder or hip and instantly convertible from single shot to fully automatic fire at 480 rounds per minute. The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was an immediate hit.

Different Firing Pin Designs: What They’re Called, How They Work

Everybody knows firing pins detonate primers, but not everyone can define esoteric aspects of these parts.

Gun Vises for Almost Nothing, with Complete Dimensions

Every gunsmith needs a good vise, but not everyone has the money to buy one. Here are two you can build yourself, with updated dimensions for components.

Worrisome Questions From SCOTUS

I am uneasy after hearing oral arguments in the Supreme Court case, Garland v. VanDerStok, and reviewing a transcript from the October 8, 2024 session....